Social services caseworkers make dozens
of client-related decisions every day.
Some of them are literally life and death.
Yet today, governments face considerable challenges
Casework isn't integrated, legacy systems are everywhere,
budgets and revenues are shrinking;
experienced workers are retiring;
fraud, abuse and error are hard to detect;
and there's a growing expectation
for documented positive outcomes.
As a result, workers make inconsistent decisions,
service delivery is disjointed and uncoordinated,
and paper documents dominate.
Both service gaps and service duplication are abundant.
Organizations are swimming in data,
but at the same time,
they are information-poor.
Government agencies are very good at collecting data,
but the systems and processes intended to support staff
are hard-pressed to keep up with
the need for actionable information.
This means that the agency's understanding of what
is happening to individual clients
and the community in general can lag weeks,
or even months behind actual events.
Workers in the field are even more limited
in their access to information.
Unless they bring it with them,
they may not be able to get case notes or files
without returning to their office.
They cannot search case management systems,
update files, or learn about a client's prior history.
What if an organization had an integrated case management system
to provide a holistic view of the client?
A system that would allow a caseworker
– remotely by mobile device – to determine service eligibility
and initiate service delivery for any client by having
access to a total picture of their benefits and services.
Clients would become active participants in developing
their own service plan because, like the caseworker,
they can now easily access the information they need
– a holistic view of their own current and pending benefits.
And all of this can be done while maintaining data security,
and protecting the client's privacy and confidentiality.
By integrating disparate systems and coordinating
human service strategies, gaps in services can be closed
and redundancy can be eliminated.
Innovation that leads to improved services
and client outcomes is in.
Waste, error and fraud are out.
Watch the videoFrom the client perspective, integrated casework means that
– rather than spending hours traveling from
one government office to another in search of assistance
– the client can go to any office to get almost everything they need,
because the case worker can access all of the
relevant information about the client.
And sometimes they don't need to go to any office.
They can receive help in their home,
their office, over the phone, or via the Internet.
Client access to information and assistance is the focus.
As such, clients can easily get information about their benefits,
learn about their options and pending status,
and understand how life-changes will affect their benefits.
"What if I begin to work twenty hours a week?"
"What if we get married?"
"What if I deliver twins?"
"What if my mother, who's a senior, moves in with us?"
Because unnecessary information silos are eliminated,
employees, departments, and even agencies
cooperate to the benefit of the client.
With their common view of the client,
they can speak with one voice to answer problems and questions.
With new business intelligence tools,
applications can be fast-tracked.
New applicants for services can quickly learn about
qualifying procedures, apply for benefits,
and quickly receive answers from the authority in charge.
Watch the videoFrom a caseworker perspective, access to information
where they need it, when they need it
means less time searching for and through paper files,
and less time traveling back and forth
between the field and the office.
Ultimately this all means improved benefits
and services for those in need.
With a complete view and information about the citizen
in one place, the social services professional can
ascertain income, medical condition, family status, employment,
criminal justice background, and other pertinent data.
They can also view the benefits and services
currently being received as well as prior history.
This makes enormous sense.
Many social services clients are involved
with more than one agency.
For example, food stamp recipients may
also receive financial or housing assistance.
With an integrated dashboard at caseworkers' fingertips,
a worker can see trends in services.
And agencies can share digital information more securely.
What can this framework do in practice?
It can anticipate changes in demand
for different types of services.
This also helps to eliminate duplication of benefits
and redundancies in data collection.
The same "what if" engine is available
to the case worker and the client.
So they can configure situations to predict
what might happen if benefits were combined in different ways,
or as life styles are amended.
Above all, it can make sure that people
aren't falling through the cracks.
Watch the videoSocial services are fueled by a passion
to serve a community - and data.
Any worker may need to determine if a client is eligible
for a particular benefit or program.
Data – both new and historical – collected about that client
can be used by a rules engine to determine if the client
meets the legislative and/or regulatory requirements
for receiving the benefit.
Again, business intelligence helps a social services organization
to determine services that will have the greatest
probability of achieving smart outcomes.
This may not sound like a significant issue, but it is.
Consider that legal requirements can be complex,
that clients may have prior histories that result in very long
case files residing in multiple programs and agencies,
and that new workers may not be completely versed
in eligibility requirements which can change frequently.
Other business intelligence tools can help detect fraud and error
by indentifying individuals who are receiving a benefit
under two different names, or identifying clients whose
circumstances have changed and whom, as a result, are no longer
eligible for a benefit or services.
All of this means that clients who need assistance
receive the help they are entitled to more quickly,
workers are able to access usable information to make
better informed decisions and, as a result,
they can spend more time working with the clients
who need their help the most.
And resources that are stretched thin
are used more effectively.
With smarter government, the people we serve and the people who serve them
can get access to information and services they need faster,
with fewer obstacles – helping to create a better citizen
to government relationship and more independence sooner.
Watch the video